Not So Subtle
by silvereyesish
Summary: -LxLight- The first thing Light saw upon waking up on Valentine's Day was L's face.


**Not So Subtle  
Rating:** PG-13ish, for language and lime.  
**Genre: **Humor/Romance  
**Summary:** The first thing Light saw upon waking on Valentine's Day was L's face.  
**Notes:** Do not own this obviously. This was a fic I wrote for a contest on Deviant Art.

* * *

The first thing Light saw upon waking up on Valentine's Day was L's face.

Understandably, Light was surprised. Waking up to the look on L's face would've been quite the unnerving sight to anybody. The detective's onyx eyes were wide and owl-like, and the bags etched under them only increased the creepiness factor. However, to Light, this occurrence was not out of the ordinary; quite the contrary. It was something he'd grown used to, waking up and finding the insomniac's emotionless stare fixed on him. That was nothing out of the ordinary in the morning schedule the two had. What _was_ out of the ordinary was the distance between Light's nose and L's. Which was about an inch.

"Gaaah!'"

Light let out a cry and attempted to scramble back, but only managed to entangle himself in the blankets and somehow end up on the floor. Irritated, the teen then proceeded to thrash about, trying to get free. From up on top of the bed, Light could see the smirk on L's face as the detective peered over the bed to watch the boy struggle. When Light finally got free, he leapt up and tossed the blankets aside, glaring murderously as his handcuffed partner.

"What the hell was that, Ryuzaki?" Light demanded, running a hand through his hair agitatedly.

There was no smirk on L's face, now. There was a wide-eyed look of innocence on the detective's face, and Light had to wonder if he'd just been imagining things. The two stared at each other for a moment, but L never replied, choosing to instead shrug and hop lightly out of bed, heading toward the bathroom they shared. Light tripped over the blankets as the sudden pull from the chain threw him off balance, but he caught himself, just barely. Irritation flooded his features as he finally reached the bathroom. He wasn't quite sure what L had been doing, but it probably had to do with the Kira case, and that pissed him off even further.

Not to mention the fact that his heart was beating extremely fast from the close proximity with the detective. That was a reaction that Light would have rather not thought about the implications of. No, his heart was beating incredibly fast from the shock of waking up to the intimidating scare. It had nothing to do with L himself.

_…__Damn. W__hat a horrible start to the day._

* * *

The day only got worse.

"Liiiiiiiightttttt!"

Said teen flinched at the high-pitched scream that emitted from behind him. That noise had been something he'd been dreading since he'd realized what day it was. Valentine's Day gave Misa the chance to annoy Light even more than she usually did. He knew that whatever she demanded that he do for the "holiday" would be either mortifying or excruciatingly boring, or worse, a mixture of both. Not to mention that if they left the building, they'd have to bring L along. Light _so _did not want to have to endure the stares he'd receive because of the handcuffed man on one arm and the squealing fangirl on the other.

Something small, blonde, and noisy shot at him so quickly Light almost lost his balance. When he was steady, he looked down to see Misa, nuzzling his chest like a cat, giggling happily. He put on his best boyfriend grin, and patted her on the head awkwardly, inwardly pleading all the gods he knew of to get rid of the pesky leech attached to him.

"Light-kuuun, Light-kuuun, Misa wants you to go on a date with her! It's Valentine's Day!"

Light pulled away from Misa, still smiling, trying to appear sincere. He didn't want to hurt her feelings, but quite honestly, there was no way in hell he'd torture himself by letting her drag him all over town on a "date". So he'd let her down the hard way, and just deal with the consequences later.

Misa reached into her pocket, smiling broadly, and pulled out a little box of candy hearts, handing them to Light happily. He took them rather reluctantly, hoping she didn't expect him to eat them in front of her. The things tasted like chalk. Light also hoped she didn't expect him to have gift for her, but she didn't seem to care. Instead, she skipped over to L, and pulled a card out of her back pocket, holding it out to the detective. L turned slowly to look up at her from his seat, thumb at his lips. Unfazed, Misa pushed the card closer, and beamed at L, looking proud that she'd gotten him something. The detective's mouth twitched as he actually picked the card up, holding it in his particular way, like it had anthrax concealed inside (although Light would have probably done the same thing; the card was incredibly gaudy and so pink that he almost was sick to his stomach while looking at it).

"Thank you, Misa-san. I was not expecting to receive any gifts on this day." L said finally, examining the card. He rolled his head around to look at the girl mournfully.. "I am afraid I have nothing to give you, Misa-san. My apologies."

"Misa understands, Ryuzaki-kun. Misa would only accept a gift from her valentine, anyway." Misa grinned, patting L on the head, as if he was a dog. Then, ignoring the detective's somewhat disgruntled stare, she turned back to Light and pounced. This time Light had been expecting it, bracing himself and grunting as she threw her arms around his waist.

"So let's get going, Light-kun! We have lots to do today!"

Light shook his head, prying Misa's fingers off him. He was about to speak when L cut him off, sounding bored.

"I am afraid I cannot allow you to leave the building, Light-kun. I have much work to do, and I cannot un-cuff you, therefore you will have to stay here and assist me."

Misa, predictably, threw a fit. "But Ryuzaki-kun! It's Valentine's Day! Misa just _has _to go on a date with her Light-kun!"

L shook his head. "My apologies, once more, Misa-san, but it is out of the question. Now, please leave us. There is work to be done." Misa's eyes narrowed, and she looked like she was about to argue, but Light decided to cut in at that point.

"Misa! Listen." He spoke sharply, and the girl flipped around, a pout on her face. Light re-applied his best boyfriend smile. "We'll go on a date another time, all right? I promise. But for now, Ryuzaki and I have to work. Please go back to your room?"

The pop idol's eyes lit up, and she nodded, clapping her hands together once. "Okay, Light-kun. We'll go on a super special date next time to make up for Ryuzaki-kun's meanness!" Misa raced forward, pecked Light on the cheek once, and then scampered out of the room, waving to the rest of the team (namely Matsuda, who was the only one paying attention to the girl) as she left.

Light sighed in relief, and fell into his chair, rubbing his temples. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw L staring at him, and Light shot the detective a glare.

"What do you want, Ryuzaki?" Light snapped, not in the mood for mind games.

L tilted his head to the side, thumb at his lips. "So, you do not like Valentine's Day, Light-kun?"

Light sighed again, this time warily, and rubbed at his eyes before returning to his computer screen. "No, not especially. Why do you ask?"

L shrugged, and Light was startled to see that the detective looked slightly put-out. "Hmmm, no reason, really. I was merely curious."

Light snorted. _Merely curious, my ass._What was the older man up to…? Light opened his mouth to reply to L's statement, but the detective cut him off with a theory about something pertaining to the Kira case. Frowning, Light replied, but continued to wonder about L's intentions as he went back to work. There was something off about the insomniac today…Light just couldn't put his finger on what it was yet.

* * *

Before Light knew it, the investigation team was heading home. Stretching, Light stood up and followed the team to the door to say his goodbyes, rolling his eyes when L fidgeted impatiently behind him, probably wanting to get back to his unfinished cake. The detective could wait five seconds while the teen had a personal moment; gods knew Light barely got enough of them as it was.

Now that it was completely silent in the investigation room, Light reflected on L's tactics. Why had he asked about Valentine's Day? Did it somehow relate to the Kira case? Maybe L thought that if Light disliked anything having to do with love, it meant he was a sadistic serial killer? That seemed a little far-fetched, but then again, it _was _L. And then the subject of Valentine's Day itself floated through Light's tired brain. What a wretched holiday.

Light had never put much stock in Valentine's Day. It had always been a sort of useless occasion to him. It had always seemed like just an excuse for stores to sell chocolate and flowers for more money. Besides, Light had never really liked sweets, and girls (or boys, for that matter) had never provoked any sort of interest in him. Light had had girlfriends in the past, even had a girlfriend now, but none of them had been remotely as smart as him, and has thus been of no importance. He barely remembered his past girlfriends' names, to be honest. He knew it sounded a little rude and insensitive, but Light didn't really care. They just hadn't worked out, and Light had much more important things to think about, anyway.

The teen sat down at his computer, and reached for his mouse, frowning as the chain the connected him to L went taut. With a small sound of annoyance, Light glanced back at his partner to see that L hadn't moved at all. Scowling, he pulled at the chain, causing L to stumble forward. The detective stared reproachfully at Light, but the teen merely gave him a pointed look and then proceeded to ignore him and go back to work. L headed back to his own chair, but rolled it over to where Light was sitting. Every few minutes, the detective shifted closer to Light, staring incessantly. It was only when L was crouching three inches away from his face that Light's patience wore thin. He turned to look at L, eyebrows raised.

"What?"

"Light-kun."

"_What_, Ryuzaki?" Light asked, mentally slapping himself. Turning to look at the detective had been a mistake; his heart was thudding so loudly he was sure L could hear it. _Dammit, this is stupid_, Light thought, turning back to his computer screen and scrolling down the page in an attempt to look busy.

"I know that you believe Valentine's Day to be a pathetic holiday, but I have bought you something to commemorate the occasion regardless of its apparent worthlessness." And with that, L pulled a small, red, heart-shaped box and waved it in Light's face.

Light blinked a few times, shocked into speechlessness. He glanced up at L, who was hugging his knees tightly to his chest, chewing insistently at the edge of his thumb. Light lifted the cover and stared at the chocolate truffles inside, wondering what L's motives were behind this. Was L trying to get Light to trust him so that Light would admit something? Not that that would've worked anyway, as Light wasn't Kira, but to go this far? To play with someone's emotions to get a confession? That was low, even for L.

"You don't like them?" L asked, sounding a little hurt as he leaned backward and out of Light's face. In the back of his mind, Light snorted in amusement. The detective was as talented at faking emotion as Light was. The teen wasn't fooled for a moment. L couldn't possibly…

Light closed the box and set it next to his keyboard.

"Thanks, but no thanks, Ryuzaki. I don't like sweets very much." Light said curtly, typing furiously.

"Hm. I thought it was customary to give these to friends on this day." L said, staring at the ceiling, pushing his bottom lip to the side in thought.

"Yeah, you do, but you give these to your crush, not your friends." Light explained, shaking the box slightly before putting it on the desk. He glanced at L quickly, frowning at the traces of a smirk on the detective's face.

"I apologize, Light-kun. I did not know."

* * *

"Ryuzaki, it's almost three in the morning. Could we call it a night?" Light asked, stretching. L didn't move for a moment, but at the sound of Light's back popping, the detective spun his chair around to stare at his handcuffed partner. It was silent as the two watched each other evenly, and then L stood up, nodding. Pleasantly surprised, Light pushed himself out of his chair and led the way to the door that led to their bedroom.

It wasn't a long walk, but L was trailing far behind Light, as if he was reluctant to leave the room. Irritation replaced Light's previous good mood, and the teen whirled around to see what the detective was doing. L wasn't doing much, actually; he merely stood there, staring at Light with heavy lidded eyes.

"What are you doing? The room's this way, you know." Light grumbled, waving his handcuffed hand and sending the chain rattling loudly. L blinked, and then, with a small sigh, ambled slowly to catch up with Light. Satisfied, Light began walking toward the door once more, listening to L's shuffling footsteps.

His hand was on the doorknob when felt L's hand grasp the back of his shirt. Exasperated, Light turned around to growl out a response, but was met with something much different than he had originally expected.

L pulled the boy's lips to his.

For the first few seconds, Light was too surprised to move. And then, when he brain had restarted, he pushed the detective back and retreated a step back. A quick flash of emotion raced across L's face and then vanished, replaced by his usual apathy (the look had reminded Light of a kicked puppy, and his heart gave a wrenching throb in response) Light bit his lip, feeling guilty for his reaction, especially when he'd _liked _it so much. His heart was thumping violently in his chest, and his breathing was more than a little erratic. However, Light was suspicious; he still believed that L was doing what he was doing to bait Light into a trap, and he wasn't going to fall for it.

"What the _hell _is with you today?" Light hissed, pulling at the cuff around his wrist. "First I wake up with you in my face, and then you give me chocolates, and then you _kiss _me?"

L looked wounded as he looked anywhere but at Light.

"I am not exactly sure, Light-kun. I just…" The detective paused, biting at his thumb violently, as if chewing off his skin would make the situation better. "…I do not have an explanation. Or at the very least, I do not have an explanation you would accept."

Light frowned. That didn't match what he'd thought L would've said… He opening his mouth to reply, but he was cut off by a sharp gasp of pain issued from L as the detective managed to gnaw a hole through the skin of his thumb. Light stood and watched as the older man pulled the thumb from his lips, stared at it like it wasn't real, and then looked back up at Light, looking shocked. Light's heart skipped a beat, (not that he needed that extra beat; his heart was still working overtime) but out loud he snorted, and reached for the man's hand, forgetting his "anger" for the moment.

"Look what you did, you idiot. That's what you get for sucking your thumb." Light sighed, and reached into his back pocket for a band-aid. Paper cuts were abundant in his work, and Light hated to be unprepared, hence the need for a band-aid. It was a good thing, too, because L had gone rather pale as he watched the blood well up on the tip of his thumb. However, in seconds, L's thumb was bandaged, and the detective was examining it with an interested look on his face.

"…It's got strawberries on it." He mumbled, sounding amazed.

Light snorted once more, this time out of real amusement than a cover-up. They were motionless for a minute, staring at each other, and then L attempted to bring his thumb back up to his mouth. Light snatched at L's wrist to prevent it, rolling his eyes.

Again, they were motionless. Light was at the point of almost hyperventilating from the close contact. And then, finally, he couldn't take it any longer; he grabbed at L's hair and pulled him towards his lips, almost growling with the desire to do so.

L's breathing hitched, lips suddenly molding to his, strong, pale, slender hands burying themselves in Light's tangled mess of hair. Light could barely breathe, his head was spinning from the intensity of the kiss, and it seemed like all he could do was stand there and kiss his rival, invading the detective's mouth and loving the flash of excitement it gave him to feel L's tongue dancing with his own…

And then, he felt so light-headed and out of breath that he had to pull away, breathing harshly.

L looked up at his partner from his hunched position, looking worried.

"Was that a little better?" he asked. Light grinned.

"Actually, it _was_ much more satisfying the second time."

The look on L's face, elated, made Light laugh as he pulled the detective closer. The grin on Light's face remained as he

"I suppose I do like Valentine's Day after all."

* * *

_silvereyesish_


End file.
